Waving not drowning
by susanmary
Summary: Response to Unbound challenge. Sara has a relaxing day at the lake, or does she? GS


Title:Waving not Drowning  
  
Rating: General  
  
Summary: Response to Unbound Challenge. Just when Sara feels relaxed! G/S  
  
A/N. Thanks for all the feedback on my previous effort. Thanks again to Shannon for the beta.  
  
Sitting tied up in a car sinking to the bottom of Lake Mead wasn't quite how Sara had planned to spend her day off. She'd just worked a triple on a particularly nasty home invasion, chasing the evidence until they had enough for Brass to arrest one Jamey Ellis who would hopefully spend the rest of his life in the state prison. Sara had been there for the arrest and the initial interrogation which had been one of the most intimidating experiences of her CSI career. Ellis had not taken his eyes off her throughout the interview, leering at her, eyes moving from her legs to her breasts. In the end Brass had asked Sara to bring Grissom in for the second half of the interrogation. She was relieved when it was over.  
  
Grissom had literally had to march her out of the building when he found her curled up asleep in the break room.  
  
She had intended to head straight home, but felt to wired to go back to sleep. Maybe if she got some fresh air it might make her sleepy. She pointed the car in the direction of Lake Mead.  
  
On arrival at the lake she parked the car at a spot close to the shore, and headed into the forest. The calm serenity started to sooth her frayed nerves and she felt the tension begin to melt from her bones. The brisk walk began to turn into a gentle stroll and she could almost feel the beat of her heart slowing and taking on the calm pace of her surroundings.  
  
She returned to the car after about an hour with the intention of returning to the Crime Lab for an update. She reached into her pocket to switch her mobile to ring when she realised it wasn't in her pocket. Looking through the car window she noticed it on the floor next to the drivers seat, the message light flashing away.  
  
"Damn" she muttered as she opened the door and reached in to pick it up. She had 5 new messages, 1 from Brass, 2 from Nicky and 3 from Grissom. "What's goin on now?" she wondered.  
  
She called Grissom first.  
  
"Thank God, Sara. Where the hell are you?" Grissom sounded stressed.  
  
"Just looking out over Lake Mead. Moor Head car park to be exact. I'm on my way in so don't........." she was about to say more when Grissom interrupted her.  
  
"Are you on your own?"  
  
"No Griss, I'm here with Brad Pitt and George Clooney! Of course I'm on my own"  
  
"This is not funny, Sara. Jamey Ellis escaped from custody just before you left the lab. Brass is worried he may have followed you. We've spent the last 2 hours trying to contact you. God, Sara, I was going mad with worry." Grissom sighed deeply on the other end of the phone.  
  
"Look I'm on my way back now, I'll be with you in an hour or less"  
  
"No Sara stay where you are, Brass is heading that way with some officers as backup. Don't move, lock the car door and keep an eye out for Ellis. Do you hear me Sara stay in the car"  
  
"Sure Grissom but you do realise that Ellis is probably out of the state by now." But Sara was talking to the dial tone.  
  
Hey maybe Grissom does care after all, she smiled and caught her eye in the rear view mirror. As she started to look away she thought she saw a shadow moving at the edge of the forest. Grissom had really got her spooked, she was seeing bogey men in the wood now.  
  
As she settled down to wait for Brass her thoughts turned to Grissom. She had to admit that the past month had seen an improvement in her relationship with her supervisor. They were certainly working together more and were slowly getting back into their easy banter. There were more gentle guiding touches as they walked together, he no longer seemed to avoid standing near her and he actually looked her in the eye. Maybe there was hope for their friendship after all.  
  
Sara felt her eyelids getting heavy and she quickly slipped into a light sleep, the fresh air had worked after all.  
  
She was suddenly jerked from her slumber by a banging on the drivers window. Ellis stood outside the window with his arm round the neck of a boy of about 9 years old. The boy was obviously distressed.  
  
"Open the door, or I hurt the kid."  
  
Sara stared into the boys eyes, he was absolutely terrified. She unlocked the door, Ellis pushed the boy away, grabbed Sara by the hair and dragged her from the car. Over Ellis's shoulder she saw the boy run away from the car out onto the road leading from the main highway.  
  
"Ain't payback a bitch, bitch" Ellis growled into her ear. "This is where you and me part ways. I'm going to have a long and happy life. You're not!"  
  
"Don't count on that. Brass is on his way, he'll be here any minute then we'll see some payback." She attempted to kick him in the shins but missed her target.  
  
Ellis pushed Sara up against the car and pulled some cord from his jeans pocket. He began tying up Sara's wrists, all the time whispering in obscenities in her ear, and then roughly shoved her back into the car. He released the handbrake and slammed the door shut. Sara lost sight of him as he went to the back of the vehicle and began to push the vehicle to the edge of Lake Mead.  
  
"Oh God, this is it" Sara thought. "Where are you Jim, hurry please" As the car began to slip beneath the water she thought she heard the distant sound of sirens.  
  
Sara felt the car shudder as it hit the bottom of the lake, the car began to slowly fill up with water and she concentrated on breathing calmly and trying to get her hands into a position to be able to open the door once the car had filled with water. As it rose above her head she reached for the door handle, as the door gave way she felt an arm grab her round the waist and begin pulling her up to the surface.  
  
She gasped as she broke the surface and turned to identify who had helped her. She laughed as she looked into the red face of Jim Brass.  
  
"You need to lose some weight if this is going to become a habit, Sidle. Can you make it to the shore under your own steam."  
  
"Sure Jim, do you need a hand." She quipped back.  
  
"Get swimming, Sidle, before I regret ruining a good suit."  
  
Sara pulled herself from the water and watched as Ellis was loaded into the back of a patrol car. A policewoman stood to one side, her arm around the young boy Ellis had been threatening earlier.  
  
"Thanks Jim. As always your timing is impeccable"  
  
"Hey do you think Grissom would forgive me if I let anything happen to you, kiddo. Don't even think about catching a cold."  
  
Jim watched her blush and suddenly he saw something he'd missed just recently. There it was big, bright and ready to take on the world. Her smile--her beautiful, beautiful smile. 


End file.
